BOOKS THREAD

Thanks to recommendations a few pages back, I'm reading Empire Falls. I'm about halfway through, and thoroughly enjoying it. It's not a quick read, but it's really, really good.

 

Bridge of Sighs by Russo also is really good, Flip.

 

OK, finished Freedom. Obviously the glowing reviews were predicated on the name on the book, not the words in the book. It's a solid book, but pretty forgettable. Bunch of dullard characters used by Franzen to try and make a whole bunch of points about ... what exactly? The second half seemed to be an exercise in getting some variation of the word "freedom" onto every other page.

Nothing memorable at all about the book. I'm amazed the most interminable character of all got the bulk of the book written in her own voice.

 

I guess Oprah likes Freedom:

Oprah Winfrey has forgiven Jonathan Franzen.

 

Knocked out the last 75 or so pages of Empire Fallas last night. I stayed up way too late and I need to take a nap at my desk, but it was well worth it. Great, great read.

 

I started reading Too Big To Fail -- about the financial meltdown -- last night. I quickly churned through 80 pages and only put it down because I needed to get some sleep. A very entertaining read so far.

 

Mr DD

I'm with you on that middle section. I found the winding down or travelling back, once it started, a little less compelling that the winding up and going forward ... once you know what direction you're heading in it's just a question of how he'll make it happening. Truth is, it took me two tries to get at it. I didn't get deep into the second section before putting it down the first. My favorite was Papa Song (I'm going from memory).

YHS, etc

 

Finally picked up Pat Conroy's "South of Broad." I finished "The Lords of Discipline" right before I found "South of Broad" in the airport bookstore and what I love about what I've read of Pat Conroy's work is that his writing always keeps me longing to find out what happens next.

Mira - finished "Breaking Dawn" a couple weeks ago and it just seemed to be a metaphor for a pro-abstinence agenda: save yourself for marriage, have sex the night you get married, have a baby, bring it into a dysfunctional family ...

 

Sounds like "Breaking Dawn" is one heck of a soap opera, cougagirl. Doesn't sound like I'm missing much, no?

Still wading my way through "Freedom." Franzen is a great writer ... and he often writes what I'm actually thinking about the character in a given moment. But I am not compelled to plow through this at break-neck speed. Kinda feels like I'm on a long trip and I can't wait for it to end.

 

Great. After this and 15 pages of recommendations, I have 10 new books on my wishlist. I would've added more but there were at least five that I already read.

 

Got the new Le Carre book last night, can't wait to get to it.